Is Billy Butcher dying? In the final two episodes of The Boys, we learned that the Temp V that Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Billy (Karl Urban) were taking to give themselves superpowers was deadly. According to Vought’s top scientists, the toxic drug caused those who took it to develop deadly tumours after just three to six doses.
A normal person would just stop taking the wonder drug, of course, but Billy’s never been exactly normal. And in the final moments of episode 7, he seemingly decided not to tell Hughie about the side effects so the pair could take out Homelander (with some help from Soldier Boy) once and for all.
Well, the final episode of The Boys season 3 is here so is Billy Butcher dying? Did he really not warn Hughie about the danger? Or did Hughie’s growing addiction to power doom him? And what does this mean for The Boys season 4? Don’t worry, you lucky duck, we’ve got the answers you seek.
Is Billy Butcher really dying?
We’re afraid that Billy Butcher is, in fact, dying as a result of abusing Temp V. The miraculous drug may have given our foul-mouthed hero heat vision, but it came at the cost of turning his brain into Swiss cheese. As a result, Billy’s only got 12 months at most to live.
Is Hughie dying?
Thankfully no, although Hughie can’t take any more Temp V. Billy spared Hughie from death by knocking him out before he took his deadly dose and the final confrontation with Homelander.
What does this mean for The Boys season 4?
Billy’s health problems are likely to be a major plot thread in The Boys season 4, and as we see it there are two potential options. The first is that Billy seeks out some supe with healing powers to restore the bits of his brain that have melted in the hope of saving his life. That or he goes scorched earth and does everything he can to kill Homelander in the time he has left.
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Of the two options, let’s be honest, the second is the most likely. Billy and Homelander have always been on a collision course, and we can’t see the news of impending death derailing that. Also, realistically there aren’t any supes who can heal Billy, we know Vought could never work out the kinks in Temp V and they knew about every superpowered person on the planet. If there were someone who could cure Temp V’s deadly side-effects, they’d presumably have used them.